Ch15: Authority and the State

Question 1

Authority

Answer 1

Justifiable right to exercise powerT

Question 2

Charismatic authority

Answer 2

Rests on personal appeal of an individual leaderT

Question 3

Traditional Authority

Answer 3

Appeals to the past or traditions

Question 4

Legal-rational Authority

Answer 4

Based on legal, impersonal rules. It is highly routinized and rationalized, and it’s attached to roles, not individuals

Question 5

Bureaucracy (+characteristics)

Answer 5

Legal-rational organization or mode of administration that governs with reference to formal rules and roles and that emphasizes meritocracy. Characteristics:
1. Structured hierarchically
2. Its positions are highly specialized
3. Impersonal
4. Efficient (in theory)

Question 6

Milgram Experiment

Answer 6

See how far ordinary people would go to obey an authority figure. (Participants “shocking” actor)

Question 7

Power

Answer 7

Ability to carry out one’s own will despite resistance

Question 8

Domination

Answer 8

Probability that a command with specific content will be obeyed by a given group of people

Question 9

Coercion

Answer 9

Use of force to get others to do what you want

Question 10

Paradox of authority

Answer 10

Although the state’s authority derives from the implicit threat of physical force, resorting to physical coercion strips the state of all legitimate authority

Question 11

International State System

Answer 11

Each state is recognized as territorially sovereign by fellow states

Question 12

Welfare State

Answer 12

State is responsible for the wellbeing of its citizens

Question 13

Citizenship rights (def and types)

Answer 13

Guaranteed to each law-abiding citizen in a nation-state. TYPES:
1- Civil Rights: guarantee personal freedom from interference
2- Political Rights: guarantee rights to participate in politics
3- Social Rights: guarantee protection by the state

Question 14

Soft Power

Answer 14

Power attained through the use of cultural attractiveness rather than the threat of coercive action (hard power)

Question 15

Democracy

Answer 15

System of government wherein power theoretically lies with the people; citizens are allowed to vote in elections, speak freely, and participate as legal equals

Question 16

Dictatorship

Answer 16

Form of government that restricts the right to political participation to a small group or a single individual

Question 17

Game theory

Answer 17

The study of the decisions actors make in situations where there is uncertainty and where their success depends on the strategies of others. A game can be any situation where the outcome for one or more actors depends on the choices of another actor or actors.

Question 18

Collective Action Problem

Answer 18

Difficulty in organizing large groups because of the tendency of some individuals to freeload or slack off

Question 19

Political Party

Answer 19

Organization that seeks to gain power in government, generally by backing candidates for office who subscribe to the organizations’ political ideas

Question 20

Interest group

Answer 20

Organization that seeks to gain power in government and influence policy without campaigning for direct election or appointment to office

Question 21

Civil Voluntarism Model

Answer 21

There are three components that explain political (non) participation:
-Political orientation: strength of political commitments
-Resources: money and civic skills that make it easier to get involved and enhance one’s effectiveness
-Mobilization efforts: by parties or nonpartisan groups to get people to participate. It can only work among the willing and able